CRANE RALLIES PAST BAKER GIRLS BASKETBALL TEAM: SPORTS, PAGE A6
DECEMBER 29, 2021–
JANUARY 5, 2022
WWW.GOEASTERNOREGON.COM
Ring in the
new
year
PAGE 8
Read
‘A Series
of Small
Maneuvers’
PAGE 6
Celebrate
New
Year’s Eve
Watch
Fishtrap
Fireside
PAGE 9
PAGE 12
Taylor Scroggins/Contributed image
This “2022” will illuminate downtown La Grande on Dec. 31
as the lighted ball drops to count down to the new year.
GO! Magazine
Serving Baker County since 1870 • bakercityherald.com
December 30, 2021
FRIDAY, DECEMBER 31, 2021
WHAT YOU’LL FIND INSIDE:
12 months. 12 pages. Each featuring excerpts from
that month’s top stories.
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
DECEMBER 16 — The waning sun shining on the Wallowa Mountains created a stunning scene Tuesday afternoon, Dec. 14 in Baker City. With the foothills in the foreground in
shade, this view from Hillcrest shows the peaks of the Wallowas glowing in shades of pink, orange and white.
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Jayson Jacoby/Baker City Herald
APRIL 15 — Alex McDonald, left, and Nick Schramm,
both members of the La Grande Hot Shots firefight-
ing crew, talk tactics during a prescribed fire at Phillips
Reservoir.
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
MAY 13 — Baker City Downtown spearheaded a
project to hang baskets of flowers along Main, First
and Resort streets.
Lisa Britton/For the Baker City Herald
JANUARY 5 — Retreating clouds revealed the summit of Elkhorn Peak, second-highest point in the Elkhorn
Mountains at 8,932 feet, on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 3.
2022
May your home be
filled with joy,
happiness
BAKER CITY HERALD — C1
YEAR IN REVIEW
2021: THE YEAR IN PICTURES
JULY 17 — Delicioso restaurant had a colorful float in the Miners Jubilee parade, which returned in 2021
after being canceled in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Local • Business & AgLife • Go! magazine
Your weekly guide
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events around
Northeast Oregon
And
flooring you love!
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COMING IN
FRIDAY’S
ISSUE
The Baker City Herald’s
annual special section
looking back at the top
stories from the year.
14-page section includes
one page for each month,
as well as a selection of
photos from 2021.
QUICK HITS
Good Day Wish
To A Subscriber
A special good day to
Herald subscriber Ken
Kritchen of Baker City.
Publication
schedule for New
Year’s week
The Baker City Herald
will publish issues on Thurs-
day, Dec. 30 and Friday,
Dec. 31. There will not be an
issue on Saturday, Jan. 1.
WEATHER
Today
21 / 14
Snow likely
Friday
20 / 0
Partly sunny
Full forecast on the back
of the B section.
The space below is for
a postage label for issues
that are mailed.
2021 bids a
chilly farewell
PROPOSED BOARDMAN-TO-HEMINGWAY POWER LINE
IDAHO
POWER
GOES TO
COURT
And 2022 is likely to start cold, too
to gain access to
properties for B2H surveys
S. John Collins/Baker City Herald, File
The proposed Boardman-to-Hemingway power line would follow the route of
an existing line that crosses Highway 86 between Baker City and the Oregon Trail
Interpretive Center.
Company has
fi led civil actions
against fi ve local
property owners
line, as proposed, would also
cross several dozen parcels
of private land in multiple
counties, including Baker,
Union, Wallowa and Morrow
in Oregon.
Idaho Power would have
to pay private landowners
By JAYSON JACOBY
for an easement to build
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
Idaho Power Company is the power line across their
property. This would be a
asking a judge to order the
owners of fi ve Baker County one-time payment, not an
annual lease, according to
properties to allow the
company to survey their land the boardmantohemingway.
as part of its plan to build a com website.
Sven Berg, a corporate
major electric transmission
communications specialist
line through Northeastern
for Idaho Power, said the line
Oregon starting as early
would affect about 30 private
as 2023.
landowners in Baker County,
Attorneys represent-
who combined own about 60
ing Idaho Power fi led civil
separate parcels.
petitions regarding two of
The properties listed in
the properties on Dec. 17 in
Baker County Circuit Court, the fi ve recent court fi l-
ings include parcels owned
two others on Dec. 21, and
by Hans and Susan Finke
one on Dec. 28.
of Wilsonville, Justin and
The company is repre-
Savannah Gyllenberg of
sented in all fi ve cases by
Baker City, Dean, Rex and
Timothy Helfrich and Zach
Olson of the Yturri Rose fi rm Susan Nelson of Baker City,
the Harrell Land and Cattle
in Ontario.
LLC of Baker City, and Mike
The company has been
Ragsdale of Baker City.
working since 2007 on the
The Gyllenbergs’ 175-acre
Boardman-to-Hemingway
property is along Highway
project, a 293-mile, 500-ki-
30, just south of Interstate
lovolt line that would run
84 between Baker City and
from near Boardman to
Hemingway, near Murphy in Pleasant Valley.
The Finkes’ land, covering
Owyhee County, Idaho.
about 288 acres, is in the
Although sections of
northern part of Baker Val-
the proposed route runs
ley, near Highway 203 east of
through public property —
the freeway.
Idaho Power has received
The Nelson property,
permission from the federal
north of Interstate 84 near
government to do so — the
the Pleasant Valley inter-
change, is about 941 acres.
The Harrell property,
which is about two miles east
of the freeway and just south
of Highway 86 near the base
of Flagstaff Hill, covers about
120 acres.
Ragsdale’s property is
just north of the Harrell par-
cel, and covers about 50.5
acres, according to records
from the Baker County As-
sessor’s Offi ce.
Savannah Gyllenberg
said she and her husband
have lived on their property
for about seven and a half
years. She said they re-
ceived packages from Idaho
Power a few months ago
with forms to sign granting
the company access, but the
couple haven’t had time to
review the documents.
Gyllenberg said an exist-
ing Idaho Power transmis-
sion line crosses their prop-
erty, and they have never
objected to company workers
entering the property to
maintain the line.
The fi ve petitions have
nearly identical wording
in most sections, differing
mainly in the legal descrip-
tions of the specifi c parcels
involved.
In each petition, Idaho
Power states that either the
company or its contractor,
Cornerstone Energy Inc.
21, acting on the company’s
See, Power/Page A3
Lisa Britton/Baker City Herald
Snow clings to a barberry bush in Baker City on
Wednesday morning, Dec. 29.
By JAYSON JACOBY
jjacoby@bakercityherald.com
The new year is likely to
start much like the old one
is ending.
Snowy.
Chilly.
The wintry weather
that dominated the fi nal
week of 2021 is forecast to
persist into at least the fi rst
few days of 2022 in Baker
County, according to the
National Weather Service.
The latest in a series of
storms should bring light
snow to the area Thursday,
Dec. 30, followed by brief
clearing on Friday and
Friday night.
With few clouds to hold
in the heat, and arctic air
intruding from Canada,
temperatures could dip to
near or even below zero
in parts of Baker County
Friday night.
New Year’s Day should
be dry and chilly, with high
temperatures in the teens
or low 20s.
A stronger storm is pro-
jected to move in from the
Pacifi c Ocean on Monday,
Jan. 3. Although tempera-
tures will be moderate, and
potentially rise above freez-
ing on Tuesday, it’s possible
that all the precipitation
will fall as snow even in the
valleys, according to the
Weather Service.
See, Chill/Page A3
Scouts to pick
up Christmas
trees Jan. 2
Baker City Herald
Local Boy Scouts will be picking up Christmas trees in
Baker City starting at 9 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 2.
This community service is free, but donations are
greatly appreciated, said Scoutmaster James Simpson.
Trees need to be placed by the curb in front of the
house before 9 a.m. on Sunday.
Simpson said there will be about 18 Scouts — plus
their parents — gathering trees.
Busy beginning in Baker City
City Manager
Jonathan Cannon
refl ects on his fi rst year
handling the day-to-day operations
of the city and its departments.
He works under the direction
of the seven-member City Council,
fi ve of whom started their terms
the same week in January 2021
By SAMANTHA O’CONNER
that Cannon moved into his offi ce
soconner@bakercityherald.com
As he approaches the end of his in City Hall.
Cannon, 44, replaced Fred
fi rst year as Baker City manager,
Jonathan Cannon looks back on a Warner Jr., who retired at the end
of 2020.
2021 when, more often than not,
In addition to the usual chal-
his schedule was full.
lenges of adjusting to a new job in
“It’s been very busy. We’ve
a new city and state — Cannon
had a lot going on this year,” said
Cannon, who was hired in late No- moved from North Carolina, where
vember 2020 and offi cially started he was city manager of Saluda, a
city of about 800 residents — Can-
work Jan. 1, 2021.
In Baker City’s council-manag- non also arrived in the midst of the
er form of government, Cannon is COVID-19 pandemic.
As a result, Cannon had to deal
in effect the CEO, responsible for
with a variety of issues related to
the pandemic, including Gov. Kate
Brown’s mask and vaccination
mandates, and restrictions that
affected businesses.
“Trying to adjust to that, yet
still operate things ... every busi-
ness in town, everybody in town,
we’re no different from anybody
else, have had to deal with that
and navigate,” Cannon said.
“That’s been very interesting, to
say the least.”
In particular, the requirement
that some workers either be vac-
cinated or request a religious or
medical exemption has affected
the city.
Business ...........B1 & B2
Classified ............. B2-B4
Calendar ....................A2
Dear Abby ................. B6
Horoscope ........B3 & B4
Letters ........................A4
Issue 97, 32 pages
Comics ....................... B5
Community News ....A3
Crossword ........B2 & B4
Samantha O’Conner/Baker City Herald
See, Manager/Page A3
Jonathan Cannon in his offi ce at Baker
City Herald. He is nearing his fi rst anni-
versary as Baker City manager.
Lottery Results ..........A2
News of Record ........A2
Obituaries ..................A2
Opinion ......................A4
Sports .............. A5 & A6
Weather ..................... B6
